Dealer is definitely more expensive than an independent place (in my case last year 15% difference). I haven't compared prices with France yet, but I will do so the coming week because I expect it to be even cheaper.

http://www.reifendirekt.ch/

Cheers

Fabrizio

TCS rescommends that you stay with a CH based company to avoid any issues if you are not satisfied. This is also important for the rims as they must be approved/registered in CH.

A couple of names

http://www.pneujoe.ch/fr/index.asp (Site in FR, They have tires but no rims).

http://www.premio-tuning.de/uploads/media/Premio1522_Winterhandzettel_2012_72dpi.pdf

(Site in DE. They have tires and rims. They sell packages as well).

Recommended winter tires 2012 by TCS ( 205/55 R16 H size as example)

Continental Conti Winter Contact TS850

Michelin Alpin A4

Dunlop SP Winter Sport4D

Goodyear Ultra Grip 8

ah...good point.Yeah I forgot they are pretty strict here w.r.t aftermarket parts.

thanks!

http://www.123pneus.ch/

whis is basically the same website as the one recommended by Fabrizio above normally has the best prices for tires and a good selection. The prices quoted include delivery and you can have them shipped directly to the garage that will have them installed which is a plus. If you don't have a preferred garage they give you a list of suggestions on the website.

However they don't sell rims so you will need to purchase those separately. Keep in mind that for winter rims it's recommended to step 1-2 sizes down, eg. if you have 18'' summer rims get 17'' for winter but with a thicker tire so that the total diameter stays about the same. Traditional steel winter rims don't come in sizes larger that 16 so you probably need aluminium ones. Shop around for the cheapest decent ones you can find and stay away from Pneus Claude, they sell overpriced fakes. As others suggested, the rims need to be certified for use in Switzerland which is normally automatic if you buy from a Swiss shop.

I got mine from Euromaster a couple of years ago for a good price. Check out their website, they have a small selection in the physical shop but they can get you anything on their website at no extra cost. The brand Ronal which they carry has good prices and they make OEM rims for the likes of Audi and BMW so good quality.

Two last things to consider, make sure you get the right bolt pattern for the rims (they have a car selector on Euromaster's website which makes things easier) and think about getting a second set of TPMS if you have one on your summer rims, otherwise the light will stay on all the time.

great info!! thanks. 

I'm currently on 19' rims with 265/35 front and 305/30 rear.

so i guess I should step down to 18" maybe 245/45 front 285/40 rear or so?

I've never had to buy winter tires before. Grew up in Louisiana in the states and lived in north carolina for 7 years....

My guess is a Porsche or Audi Q7?

Given the special nature of your tires, (large and very low profile) I would suggest that you go to the dealer and get their recommendation and price as well as someplace like Euromaster. That way you know what you should be shopping for. You can't afford a mistake with your vehicle.

The other aspect of stepping down in size is that normally leaves room for the chains. Keep in mind that there are many ski resorts where you may need chains (if you do not have 4x4) to go up (the police put up a sign - so a legal requirement - not optional).

Given the cost of the rims for your vehicle (you will need alu rims for sure), you may want to consider staying with the 19" summer rims and just changing the tires. Just don't use the vehicle for going up to the mountains.

hmm.....yeah I was on the fence about swapping tires or the entire rim. I guess you're right. I should at least go chat with the dealer about recs.  maybe swapping tires is my best bet. and you were correct. it's a p-car.  9114S

NO. There is a huge fifference in price between 19'' and 18'' tires. 19'' tires are also hard to find and poor choice as not all brands make them. You may have a hard time finding winter tires in 19'' at all as they are not designed for that.

It is really a question of budget. Just be aware that you need better quality rims than one would need on a typical sedan.

You would legally be able to go up a mountain road without chains but to be realistic, you will be pushing a lot of snow with either 18" or 19" tires and you do now have much clearance. You will end up getting stuck when you have the snow piling up under the car - the wheels will not even touch the ground. Very embarrasing.

The winter tires are very important for grip and stopping distance as of 7°C so get them. It is also an insurance question - summer tires, can't stop, no repair of your car.

Forget about going skiing with the car during the key snow months of Dec-Feb.

I would suggest staying with the same rims. Cheape and easier.

N.B. do no wait to get the tires. Do it this week. They will be a special order and there is not a lot of stock available in these sizes - in all of Europe. Once it snows, you are toast.

Hence my suggestion that Randy drops by the dealership and goes over the options with them. 19" tires only vs. 18" tires and rims.

He really needs to know what is recommended for his vehicle.

Good point about availability in all cases. He needs to move quickly.

got it. thanks guys. I really appreciate this.  I will definitely move quickly!   I hope to wrap this up this week!

265/35 R 19 = 19*2.54 + 0.35*265/10 = 57.54 cm diameter

245/45 R 18 = 18*2.54 + 0.45/245/10 = 56.75 cm diameter

so I would rather go with

245/50 R 18 = 18*2.54 + 0.5*245/10 = 57.97 cm diameter

for the fronts because the difference to your original set is only 4mm which is perfectly acceptable. You work out he same logic for the rear.

"He really needs to know what is recommended about his vehicle"

made me laugh. It's not exactly rocket science, see my post above. Any alloy wheels in those dimensions will do, they are certified against norms and they will take the weight of the car without any problems. It's not even an SUV FFs! Also dealers don't know s...t about wheels from personal experience and inedependent shops such Euromaster know a lot more about wheels than the dealers since they sell/fit tons of them. Not that it is rocket science anyway like I said.

About getting stuck in snow, no that is not likely to happen on a 4WD and roads are generally clean even in winter. The only exception is when it has snowed heavily the night before and you are going up the mountain ealy before the snow plugs have had a chance to clear the snow. On a day like that you would not take the Porsche out anyway. I go up the mountain almost every weekend in winter and don't carry snow chains. Never had a problem,

The funny thing about winter tires is that they work best on snow. Not so good on asphalt, max speed is limited, they wear off more quickly, are more noisy and decrease your mpg. Since swiss and french roads are generally clean even in winter and I assume you will be doing a fair amount of highway, I recommend you go with "all season" tires instead of 100% winter ones. I got the Nokian WR G2 - wich technically are all season although most websites also list them under winter tires as well - after reading rave reviews from Canadian drives.

Nokian is a Finish manufacturer, subsidiary of Nokia and after driving them for 2000km on and under heavy snow (it started snowing the night before my departure and didn't stop until my distant destination) they completely live up to the expectations.

hmm..interesting. so if I get all-season tires I assume they qualify as appropriate for winter driving should I get in an accident?  really, I probably will attempt some driving on snow--mostly country roads though. that's why I got the 4S instead of the S (I wanted the AWD model). though anything requiring chains I definitely wouldn't do. If I want to drive in the mountains I'll rent a 4x4 SUV or something. But for going out for a little fun on a snowy country road.  for a few donuts? ....I wonder if all-season would be OK?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnTxWkLfA4g

and yes...you're correct. mostly highway probably...just the occasional run on a truly snowy road..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p_ffGs33jA

car and driver in snow in a 911 4S

dumb question:  If I currently have 305/19s on the rear alloys, will a 295/19 tire likely also fit?  I used to know the rule about this but has been a long time since I've even owned a car :). I've found some winter tires in that size...

Yes, they will just be flatter.

no way! you should definitely stay with either the OE size or an approved correspondance if going down in rim diameter! it's ok to go down one step with the speed index when fitting winter tyres, though.

as for dealers, besides you car dealer I would recommend pneus claude -- they are specializing in tyres and very efficient. www.pneusclaude.ch

Thanks Christine. will check them out

ah..looks like they're in Geneva. that's why I hadn't heard of them before now. It's a bit of a haul from Basel. but I guess if I save a few hundred at least it's worth the trip. I get decent mileage on the highway actually (28mpg last trip). thanks

ooops sorry Randy, I had not checked your location before replying ... my mistake

no worries. it's OK. 

I never pass up an opportunity to take her for a spin anyway ;)

By far best place , price for value is feuvert.fr

just 15min out of Geneva, one in FERNEY VOLTAIRE (c. cial la Poterie, ch. de la Poterie,  04 50 40 64 33) , 2 are in annemasse, 2 in annecy,

For wheels, tires, spings, shocks, clutches, brakes, oil, batteries, trailors, car Radios, speaker systems, hub caps.And they also do installations for all above mentioned

DO NOT BUY from Pneus Claude. See my post above.

Umm wrong. Women and cars....

oh yeah...that's right. you mentioned "overpriced fakes". probably crap made in china?

Yes, a friend's rims got cracks in them. he got in touch with tthe manufacturer and after sending them pictures they certified they were NOT original.

I bought last saturday here: www.fm-autozubehoer.ch

Nice shop with good prices, similar to germany .. but "only" 30km from Zürich..

I had a quick look at http://www.tirerack.com/ which is THE American website for tires.

You can have a look at the website to see which brands/models of Winter tires they recommend.

Their suggestions:

18" front: 235/40-18

18" back: 265/40-18

19" front: 235/35-19

19" back:295/30-19 (you notice that the 305 does not seem be be available)

And don't go for all season tyres with a 4 x 4 they are bad in all seasons!!

I've had them on my range (came with the car) they were totally useless in the snow while going up the mountain and plain dangerous coming down from it.

keep in mind even the worst winter tyre is better then the best rain tyre.

Cheers,

S

Verbier, the website also assumes that the OEM fronts are 235/35 R19 when the OP clearly specified they are 265/35 R19. Going with that recommenadtion would result in a full 2cm difference in the wheel diameter which is a LOT!!!

Please be careful when posting potentially misleading information. The appropriate size for the OP would be 245/50 R18 like I said.

Umm no, that's just your personal experience with 1 particular set of tires which you don't even name. That does not qualify you in any way to make a statement about all 4WDs and all all-season tires.

1. for your information tires that come with the car are usually bad for various reasons

2. have a look at the reviews fof the Nokian WR G2 that I recommended earlier and you will notice the excellent reviews from 4WD drivers, including Rovers (2 on the first page).

fyi:

https://news.axa-winterthur.ch/fr/events/20120904102844317/Index/1

unfortunately not available in English

I just realized it's not readable if not logged in.

Les incontournables pneus d'hiver
Les pneus d’été ne sont pas adaptés à la conduite sur chaussée enneigée ou verglacée, c’est indéniable. Un test réalisé par le TCS à une vitesse de départ de 40 km/h a révélé que la distance de freinage sur chaussée enneigée est au moins de 100% plus longue lorsque le véhicule est équipé de pneus d’été. De plus, la vitesse résiduelle est encore de 29 km/h au moment où le véhicule équipé de pneus d’hiver, lui, est déjà à l’arrêt.

Mais quel est le moment idéal pour changer de pneumatiques? Certains préconisent le seuil de température de 7°C, d’autres la période allant d’octobre à Pâques. Quoi qu’il en soit, le conducteur qui aura attendu l’arrivée des premiers flocons de neige pour le faire risque bien de devoir laisser sa voiture sur place.

Fiabilité des tests
De manière générale, il est déconseillé de rouler l’hiver avec des pneus dont la profondeur de profil n’est plus de 4 mm. Il faut donc envisager l’achat de pneus neufs en temps utile. Les clubs automobiles publient souvent les résultats de tests en la matière. Dans le cadre d’une procédure élaborée, ces tests étudient le comportement des pneus sur piste sèche ou mouillée ainsi que sur chaussée enneigée ou verglacée, tout en observant des facteurs tels que la consommation de carburant et la résistance à l'usure. Il est donc recommandé de se référer aux résultats de ces tests pour acheter ses pneus en toute connaissance de cause.

Une telle démarche garantit également de ne pas courir de risques inutiles malgré les pneus d'hiver, car il y a aussi régulièrement des produits qui échouent complètement lors des tests. Il apparaît ainsi que ces produits sans marque qualifiés de «pneus bon marché» sont souvent loin d'être une bonne affaire.
Il est malgré tout recommandé de comparer les prix des pneus de qualité auprès de plusieurs fournisseurs, les différences pouvant être considérables.

Que penser des pneus toutes saisons?
Un seul jeu de jantes et des changements de pneus moins fréquents: la tentation peut être grande… Mais ici aussi, les résultats des tests nous ramènent vite sur terre. Du point de vue de la sécurité, les pneus toutes saisons représentent un mauvais compromis, tant en été qu’en hiver. L'argument du coût a également été réfuté et pas seulement au regard des conséquences financières immédiates d'un accident: les coûts d'acquisition et de remplacement sur une période d'exploitation de six ans ou 90 000 km sont moins élevés en cas d'alternance entre pneus été et pneus d'hiver, y compris l'achat d'un jeu de quatre jantes en aluminium et l'équilibrage, qu'un circulant sur cette même période avec des pneus toutes saisons. Par ailleurs, si l'on ajoute à cela qu’en roulant avec des pneus appropriés à chaque saison, la consommation de carburant est moindre, on s'aperçoit que l'on peut finalement économiser au total près de 500 CHF par an par véhicule. Et lorsque les prix du carburant augmentent, changer de pneus selon la saison est encore plus avantageux.

Winterreifen sind ein Muss
Dass ein Sommerreifen auf Schnee und Eis nichts zu suchen hat, ist wohl unbestritten. Ein Test des TCS mit einer Ausgangsgeschwindigkeit von 40 km/h hat gezeigt: Der Bremsweg auf Schnee ist mit Sommerbereifung mehr als doppelt so lang. Ausserdem ist zum Zeitpunkt, wo das Fahrzeug mit Winterreifen bereits steht, die Restgeschwindigkeit noch ganze 29 km/h.

Doch wann ist der richtige Zeitpunkt, um zu wechseln? Oft hört man von der Temperaturschwelle von 7 °C, viele nennen auch die Faustregel «von O bis O», also von Oktober bis Ostern. Was auch immer man beherzigen will, wer bis zum ersten Schneefall wartet, ist jedenfalls zu spät und kann das Fahrzeug nur noch stehen lassen.

Tests Beachtung schenken
Es wird allgemein davon abgeraten, die Wintersaison mit einem Reifen in Angriff zu nehmen, der keine 4 mm Restprofiltiefe mehr hat. Es gilt also, sich rechtzeitig Gedanken über einen Neukauf zu machen. Vor allem von Seiten der Automobilclubs werden wieder entsprechende Tests veröffentlicht. In einer aufwändigen Test-Prozedur wird das Verhalten bei trockener und nasser Fahrbahn sowie auf Schnee und Eis ermittelt, ergänzt mit Faktoren wie Kraftstoffverbrauch und Verschleissfestigkeit. Es ist also empfehlenswert, sich an diesen Testresultaten zu orientieren und die Kaufentscheidung bewusst zu fällen.

Ein solches Vorgehen verhindert auch, dass man trotz Winterbereifung als Sicherheitsrisiko unterwegs ist – es gibt nämlich regelmässig Produkte, die bei den Tests komplett durchfallen. Es zeigt sich immer wieder, dass sich diese im Volksmund «Billigreifen» genannten No-Name-Produkte keineswegs lohnen.
Demgegenüber ist es sinnvoll, die Preise von guten Reifen bei verschiedenen Anbietern zu vergleichen, da es erhebliche Unterschiede gibt.

Sind Ganzjahresreifen eine Alternative?
Die Verlockung mag da sein – ein einziger Satz Felgen und weniger Reifenwechsel. Doch auch hier holen einen die Testresultate auf den Boden der Realität zurück. Sicherheitstechnisch sind Ganzjahresreifen ein schlechter Kompromiss, und zwar im Sommer wie im Winter. Auch das Kostenargument wurde widerlegt, und dies nicht nur, wenn man sich die unmittelbaren finanziellen Folgen eines Unfalls vor Augen führt: Die Anschaffungs- und Wechselkosten über eine Betriebszeit von sechs Jahren oder 90’000 km sind beim Wechsel von Sommer- auf Winterreifen inklusive einer zusätzlichen Anschaffung von vier Alufelgen und des Auswuchtens günstiger als das Fahren über die gleiche Dauer mit Ganzjahresreifen. Rechnet man zu den Wechselkosten noch den Mindertreibstoffverbrauch durch die richtige Bereifung in der jeweiligen Jahreszeit dazu, dann können pro Fahrzeug rund CHF 500.– im Jahr gespart werden. Steigen die Treibstoffkosten, kann mit der Umbereifung noch mehr Geld eingespart werden.